Dress-form.



JN0. 791,a7.94. PATENTBD JUNE 6,1905.

T.P.0oLBY} DRESS FORM.

APPLIoA'rIoN FILED JULY zo, 1903.

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Patented June 6, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE. v

THEODORE PARKER OOLBY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.-

DRESS-FORM.

sPEcIFIoATIoN forming ,part of Letters Patent No. 791,879, dated June e, 1905. Appiicaion ned my zo, 190s. serai No. 166,208.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that 1THE0D0RE PARKER COLBY, of Boston, in the/county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts?, have invented certain 5 new and useful Im provgements in Dress-Forms,

- of which the following is a specification.

I-hisiiiveiitilh-aselation to dress-forms, having for its object "to provide certain Yimprovements therein by means of which the entire dress-waist or a coat may be properly fitted.

It has been customary in dress-forms to, have the bust made without arms, so that the dressmaker or tailor was compelled to fit the I5 sleeves upon a separate sleeve-form and then attach the sleeves to the remainder of the gar- Q ment either by guesswork or with the aid of ay human model. According to the present mention the dress-form is provided with def 2o tachable arms which are adapted to be rotated about axes substantially parallel to a line connecting the shoulders, so that the dressmaker or tailor can properly drape or dit the sleeves and connect them at their upper ends to the dress-waist and by swinging the arm ascertain whetherv or not the sleeves will fit properly upon the intended wearer in various positions of the arms. In this way the waist can be litted upon the body-form and the sleeves separately fitted upon the sleeve-forms, after which the sleeve-forms may be attached to the body-form to permit the attachment of the sleeves to the waist in the proper manner.

On the accompanying drawings; Figure l represents in front elevation a dress-'form embodying the invention. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of the same with the arm pendent. Fig. 3 represents a similar side elevation of the dress-form with the sleeve-form or 4o arm detached. Fig. 4: represents an enlarged section on the line t 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 represents a View` of one of the sleeve-forms or arms detached. A

The body-form may be full length or it may consist of only the bust, including the neck, shoulders, waist, and upper portion of the hips. This form is indicated at 0;, and it is of any suitable shape, supposedly approximating the shape of the human body. This form may be made of papier-mch or any suitable .block a2, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, whereby material-such as stiflened paper, duck, linen cloth," or the like-and it is preferably reinforced at the neck and shoulders with wooden blocks a and a2, respectively, as indicatedin dotted lines in Fig. 1. In Fig. A, which is a transverse section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, the wooden block a2 is shown as secured in place by nails or other fastenings a3. The sleeveforms or arms b approximate the shape of the human arm, except that they are minus the l hands. These may be made of any suitable material, although it is preferable that both the arms and the b ody-form a should be covered with some fabric to which the parts of the dress or the dress-lining may be pinned. The arms maybe hollow, and in that event in the upper or shoulder ends thereof are secured blocks b of wood, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l and in-section in Fig. 4C. The plane of division between the arms and the body may be substantially parallel to a vertical median line of the body and to each other, though this is not essential, as said planes may downwardly converge.

To the arms or sleeve-forms and the bodyform are attached complemental coupling members which permit the arms to be independently rotated about axes substantially at right angles to the planes of division between the arms and body, and these coupling members are so constructed that the arms will be held by friction in the positions to which they may be moved. The said members are in the form of plates c and d, respectively, the former being secured to one ofthe blocks a2 and 85 the other to one of the blocks The plate Z is secured byscrews d', as shown in Fig. 5, whereas the plate c is provided with curved slots o', through which screws c2 pass into the said plate c is adapted to partially rotate about an axis equidistant from the slots and is maintained frictionally in the position'to which it maybe adjusted. The friction of the plate c relatively to its portion of thedress-form may be varied by adjusting the screws c2 to clamp the plate more or less tightly. The plate c is forme-d with a keyhole slot or socket c3, adapted to receive a headed or T-shaped stud i d2 on the plate d. The shank of the stud is 10 y relatively thin, so as to fit in the narrower moved bodily to cause the narrow shank' of'- the stud to pass 'into the narrower portion of the slot, Where it is held from disengagement or movement: outward from the body by the enlarged head engaging the inner face of thev plate c. After the arm or sleeve-form is attached toy the. plate c the arm may be oscillated fromy a pendent position, as shown in fulllines in Fig;-2,.to a substantially horizontal position, as illustrated in dotted lines, WhereA it will-remain until readjusted.

It is-apparent that the arms maybe straight or benty at the elbow, `as desired, and indeed in some cases each body-form is provided with av-series or plurality of sleeve-forms in which the yforearm is bent into different angular positionsfwithrelation to the upper arm.

Having thus explained the nature ofthe inventionand described a way of constructing and using the same, although Without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of` its use, If declare that what Iclaim-isl. A dress-form comprising a body portion, a detachable arm, and interlocking coupling members secured to said body and arm respectively, the means forA securing one off said members providing. for oscillation of and providing variable frictional tension of said member relatively to its supporting portion: Y,

2. A dress-form comprising a body, an arm, and means for detachably connecting said arm to said body, said means comprising two plates of ,Whichone is rigidly aixed to said arm, and of whichy the other is provided with segmental slots through which screws are inserted vinto the body, or vice versa, said plates having a separable complemental stud-andslot connection, and providing a limited frictional rotation of said plates relatively to one of said portions of said dress-form.

3.- A sleeve-form having a coupling member, combined with a complemental coupling member, a'support to which said complemental member is pivotally connected, and means for frictionally engaging the complemental member with its support, whereby the complemental member and the sleeve-form engaged therewith may be\supported iidi'erent positions, the said coupling members be-" ing separable so that the sleeve-form may be removed from the support.

4. A sleeve-form support having a coupling plate rotatably secured thereto, and means for frictionally engagingthe plate with the support, the said plate having a socket to receive a coupling member on a sleeve-form.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence oftwo witnesses.

THEODORE PARKER' COLBY.

Witnesses:

M; B. MAY, J. P. IDE. 

